Yaz and Yasmin Lawsuits Still Being Filed, as More Settlements Reported

Lawsuits alleging the Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills caused users to suffer serious injuries ranging from life-threatening blood clots to gallbladder disease continue to be filed by young woman around the country.  Most Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits are being filed in the Yaz and Yasmin multidistrict litigation now underway in U.S. District Court, Southern District Court.  However, additional claims are also pending in state courts in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Plaintiffs in Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits allege the drugs caused a variety of dangerous side effects, including:

•    Blood clots
•    Deep Vein Thrombosis
•    Pulmonary Embolism
•    Strokes
•    Heart Attacks
•    Gallbladder problem
•    Death

Yaz and Yasmin are both made with a synthetic form of progestin called drospirenone.  In April, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the labels for Yaz, Yasmin and other drospirenone birth control pills would be updated to provide stronger information regarding their blood clot risks, after some studies indicated that such contraceptives were associated with as high as a three-fold increase in the risk of blood clots.

Since then, women from around the country have filed lawsuits alleging Bayer failed to warn users about the risks associated with Yaz and Yasmin.  So far, some 12,000 Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits are pending in the federal litigation, and in several state litigations.  According to a recent report from the Madison Record, 76 new Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits have been filed in the federal litigation since the beginning of July.

Cases in the federal litigation have also been settling, with Bayer reporting last month that it had resolved more than 1,800 lawsuits involving venous blood clots for $406.2 million.  The company also said it planned to up its reserves for Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits, and will be setting aside an additional $610 million to take care of legal costs not covered by its insurance.